Peter f



(No Model.)

P. P. SGHENGK.

LIFE BOAT.

wmf

Patented Oct. 15

f il U WHR/w ENNA WITNESS/5S:

ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT GEEICE.

PETER F. SGHENCK, OF HIGHLANDS, NEV JERSEY.

LI FE-BOAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 412,982; dated October 15, 1889.

Application filed February 9, 1889. Serial No. 299,248. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom t may concern: 4

Be it known that I, PETER F. ScHENoK, ot Highlands, in the county of Monmouth and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Life-Saving Car or Boat, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to lifesaving cars or boats used by surfmen or life-savers to reach wrecks oit-shore for saving life or property, and adapted also to be carried aboard ship for rescuing passengers or crew; and the invention has for its object to provide a complete safe craft of this character, giving abundant supply of air to its occu pants, and providing for their quick and safe exit at the shore or atanother vessel.

The invention consists in certain novel features ot' construction of the life car or boat hull and air-supplying devices, all as hereinafter describedand claimed.

Reference is to behad to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure l is a plan view of my improved life-saving car or boat, partly broken away and in horizontal section. Fig. 2 is a side view of the car, partly broken away and in vertical section. Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view ot' one ot' the air-tubes of the car, with a portion of the side of the car in vertical section. Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the air-tube reversed in position, as when the car is capsized. Fig. 5 is an end view of the air-tube, showing the sand-eXcluding valve; and Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the valve and its box, taken on the line u; in Fig. 5.

The hull of thel life-saving car or boat is made in the ordinary manner, or of series of staves or planks secured to a frame constructed to give the finished craft the general form clearly shown in Figs. l and 2 of the drawings, or with top and bottom portions A B, which spring upward and downward from a line b, ranging horizontally around each side of the hull at about one-third its depth from the top of the car or boat. Dead-lights C, fitted forward and aft in the top A and at't in the bottom B, admit light to the occupants of the car whichever ot said portions rides uppermost. By placing the bottom dead-lights abatt they are not liable to be broken by stranding or beaching the life-car when she beaches on an even keel or right side up.

The top and bottoni of the life-car are each provided with a hatch or door. of the top A is hinged to it at d, and is providedat its free end with any suitable fastenings, which may be screws e, held to the hull and entering metal straps e on the hatch, and provided with tightening-nuts E,by which the hatch may be held with a water-tight joint to a combing a, surrounding the hatchway. The hatch F of the bottom B is fitted to an openin-g or hatchway made through it, and the hatch preferably has amargin al flange, which laps onto the inside of the bottom. This hatch is hinged at one edge at f, so as to open toward the inside of the car, and its free edge is shown fastened by buttons Gr, pivoted to the hull and overlapping the hatch. Any other suitable fastening may, however, be provided for securing the hatches D F closed to the car-hull with water-tight joints. It will be noticed that in the usual position of the car or boat (shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings) the hatch F is flush with the outside and bottom of the hull and offers no obstruction to the free launching or stranding of the car from or upon the shore, and as the hatch hinges and fastenings are on the inside of the car they can suffer no damage in handling the car. ,The top hatch D can readily be fastened or unfastened from outside t-he -car by lite-savers at the wreck or on the shore or at a rescuing vessel.

The object of providing the lower hatch F is to allow exit of passengers from the car should it be capsized and reach another vessel oi the shore bottom upward or in any other position, making the usual hatch D inaccessible, and in this case the hatch F can readily be untastened and opened inward by the passengers to allow their escape through the hatchway it had closed.A

The present improvement in the air-tubes H, which maintain a supply of atmospheric air to the occupants of the life car or boat in every position it takes when in use, consists in the application to the outer air-admitting end ot the tube of a seltacting valve l, which,

The door D v IOO when uppermost, almost wholly excludes sand from the air-tube, and an additional ballvalve J, placed in a chamber of the tube next the sand-valve, and in the provision of an apertured seat for a ball-valve in the air-inlet spout II of the tube, which projects into the interior of the life-car.

A brief explanation of the main parts of the airtube will suffice for a clei r understanding of this part of my invention, as follows:

The main body of the air-tube H consists of two short tubular sections h, coupled to two bored val ve-seat sections h and to a bored head-piece h2, to which the side spout I-I is connected. This provides two chambers lm, into which are placed heavy and light ballvalves L M, respectively.

In the present improvement I fix an additional tubular section j to the outer valveseat section 7L and attach a short valve-box t' to the outer end of the tube j. This provides an additional chamber j within the tube, and into which is placed the light ball-valve J, while the sand-valve I is pivoted by its central stem in the box or outer tube-piece t', and so as to close against a crescent-shaped web or partition plate t', which projects inward from one side of the valve-box, as shown most clearly in Figs. 5 and (3 of the drawings. The stem of the valve is provided with a laterally-projectin g arm k,which carries a weight K, which operates normally to open the valve when the air-tube stands with the valve downward and to close the valve when itis uppermost or when the position of the air-tube is reversed. The crescent-shaped plate t, by extending partly over the closed valve when the valve is uppermost, prevents constant opening of the valve by the wash of the sea, and the inner face of this plate i is beveled to slope downward when the valve is lowcrmost to allow free exit of sand which may have washed upward into the air-tube' while the valve I is open. Onel end of each coupling h and the inner end of the head-piece h2 are formed as conical seats on which the ballvalves J M L may close tightly to exclude water and sand, and the other end of the two couplings h and the inner end of the valve box or piece t' have seats made smaller than the diameter of the adjacent tube-chambers and provided with side passages for air when the ball-valves rest on them. These valveseat passages (markedn in the drawings) may consist of rectangular openings or of round holes in the valve-seat, or combinations of roundl holes and end slots, as may be preferred. The inner part or section of the airtube H is provided with a iange 7a3, which is bolted or screwed to the side of the life-car section B to hold the air-tube to the car, and the valve-seat at the inner end of the outer section is provided with side passages n for air. A ball-valve O,fitted in a chamber o of the spout, closes to the seat at the outer part of the spout. The inner part of the spout is provided with an ordinary plu g-valve P, which may be closed to exclude water from the car or boat should the water pass the ball-valves at any time, which, however, is not likely to,

occur. The ball-valve O is also adapted to close to a seat atthe inner air-outlet o of the spout. Each of the air-tubes, except at its open air-admitting end next the valve I, is covered bya solid fender H2, preferably made of wood and xed to the car-hull in a manner to fully protect the tubes from being carried away by the bumping of the life-car against the shore or a rescuing vessel.

In applying the air-tubes H to the life-car I set a number of them with the valves I lowermost and a number with the valves I uppermost. In Figs. l and 2 of the drawings the four air-tubes at the side of the car have the valves set downward or next the water and the two air-tubes at the stern of the car are set with their valves at the top. These reverse positions of the air-tubes provide for admission of air through the side tubes when the car is on an even keel or right side up, at which time air and water are excluded from the stern tubes; but should the car or boat capsize or turn bottom up the stern tubes H will admit air to the car, while the side tubes will exclude both water and air therefrom. It being understood that the life-car is right side up or on an even keel, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, the four side airtubes H would then stand as shown in Fig. 3, and the two stern air-tubes would stand in reversed position, or as shown in Fig. 4L of the drawings. rlhe heavy ball-valves L of the stern air-tubes would then be closed to their seats by gravity to cut off inflow of water or air to the car, and if by chance any water should pass the valves L the valves O of the tube-spouts H would be closed to cutoff passage of water through the outlet o', and should water pass the valve O in emergencies the plug-valveP would be closed to completely shut water out of the life-car. The lighter valves J M may or may not assist the heavier valves L in excluding water from the car. While the valves Iof the stern air-tubes are closed, little or no sand or refuse matter can be washed into the tubes to interfere with the proper action of the ball-valves. Hence the valves I are eflicient checks against the clogging of the air-tubes. While the stern valves are thus acting to exclude water and air from the life-car, the side air-tubes in reversed positions exclude water and sand from and freely admit air to the inside of the lifecarin the following manner: It will be understood that the side air-tube valves I, now lowermost, are held open by their weighted stems, and so long as these side air-tubes are not submerged, atmospheric air will enter them and pass by the valves J M L through the apertures n in their seats, and will also pass the open valves O P into the life-car to supply its passengers with air. Should the car be at any time submerged, the water en-` TOO IIO

tering the side air-tubes would lift the lighter valves J M and cut oft inflow of Water to the car. Should these two valves for any reason fail to act, the valves L O, especially the one O,maybe relied on to exclude the Water, and should all these valves fail the plug-valves P may be closed to positively exclude Water. Should the life-car roll considerably While keeping right side up, the valve O, which usually lies at the center of its chamber or at its outer seat, will then roll toward and close the passage o. Hence this valve O is relied on more particularly to counteract inlioW of Water during rolling ofthe life-car. Vhen Water, With sand or refuse, is carried into the air-tubes past the lowermost valves I, the light ball-valve J Will be lifted by the Water to its upper seat to close the tubechamber above it against entrance of sand or refuse matter, and as the Water recedes or flows down out of the air-tubes t-he sand and refuse Will wash clean out of the tubes, as the inclined inside face of the valve-stop and guard-plate t" offers no shoulders onto Which the sand could lodge to clog the tubes. If preferred, the valves L J I may alone be used in the main body or barrel of the air-tubes, and in this case the valve-case j 'i' would be held directly to the innermost collar or coupling h', and the outermost coupling 7L and tube 7L Would be dispensed with; but I prefer the arrangement of valves shown and described.

This life car or boat is not restricted to use from the shore by surfmen, as the craft is Well adapted t0 be carried by Steamers or other vessels to be used in case of shipwreck, and when supplied with provisions and launched with a drag to hold her steady before the Wind the occupants of the car will be coniparatively comfortable and quite safe, as the craft under these circumstances Will outride any storm, as she is practically unsinkable unless the hull is crushed in by wreckage or reefs.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with a life-saving car,

of one or more air-inlet tubes opening Without and Within the car, the outerparts of said air-tubes provided with valve-chambers having opposing perforate and imperforate seats, ball-valves placed in said chambers, and a self-acting sand-eXcluding valve fitted at the outer end of the tube, substantially as herein set forth. A

2. The combination, with a life-saving car, of series of airinlet tubes opening Without and Within the car, one or more of said tubes being set in reversed position relatively to the other tubes, and the outer parts of said air tubes provided With valve-chambers having opposing perforate and imperforatc seats, ball-valves placed in said chambers, and a self-acting sand-excluding valve iitted at the outer ends of the tubes, substantially as herein set forth.

3. The combination, with a life-saving car, of one or more air-inlet tubes comprising a main body portion II and a side spout II', provided with valve-chambers having opposing perforate and imperforate seats, and ballvalves J L O, placed in said chambers, said part H provided with a self-closing sand-excluding valve I, substantially as herein set forth.

4. The combination, with a life-saving car, of one or more air-inlet tubes comprising a main body portion I-I and a side spout II', provided with valve-chambers having opposing perforate and imperforate seats, valvesL O and J or M, placed in said chambers, aselfacting sand-excluding valve I at the outer end of part H, and a plug-valve P at the inner part of the spout H', all arranged for operation substantially as herein set forth.

5. In a life-saving car, the air-inlet tubes provided at their outer ends with a self-acting valve I, the box of which has a guardplate c" outside the valve and provided with a beveled inner face, substantially as herein set forth.

PETER F. SGHENCK.

Witnesses:

HENRY L. GOODWIN, EDGAR TATE. 

